Hidden lighting under a shelf

ABSTRACT

A lit shelf system comprising a shelf having a front face, a lighting face extending horizontally, a dark face opposite the lighting face and a groove. The groove has a front wall extending to a front edge about the lighting face and a rear wall extending to a rear edge about the lighting face. The front wall is closer to the front face than the rear wall and the front wall extends further from the dark face than the rear wall. The lit shelf system further comprises a light source mounted in the groove and being for lighting a space about the lighting face. The light source extends between the front wall and the rear wall past the rear edge but not past the front edge.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from U.S. patent provisionalapplication 62/425,427 filed Nov. 22, 2016, the specification of whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND (a) Field

The subject matter disclosed generally relates to lighting devices. Moreparticularly, the subject matter disclosed relates to lighting fixturesand lit displays.

(b) Related Prior Art

In the field of lighting, and particularly in the field of lit shelves,there have been many attempts to devise solutions that provide betterlight area/space coverage under a shelf. Some of these solutions arevoluminous, complex to install, or do not resolve the problem accordingto expectations. For instance, some of them do not succeed to light upthe whole area. For example, U.S. Patent Publication U.S. 2007/0291480lights up the area under the shelf but a shadow line remains on the topof the wall behind the shelf.

Other examples of attempts to provide the highest quality in displaylighting under shelves include U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,726 A, U.S. Pat. No.8,215,795 B2, U.S. Pat. No. 8,506,116 B2, U.S. Pat. No. 9,222,645 B2,U.S. Patent Publication U.S. 2008/0285260, European Patent PublicationEP 2842461 A1 and European Patent Publication EP 2641508 A1, which allprovides attempts to solve this problem with adapted shelves oradditional lighting components to affix to the shelves or along theshelves.

There is therefore a need for improvements in the field of lighting inshelf arrangements that overcome the drawbacks associated with theexisting solutions.

SUMMARY

According to an embodiment, there is disclosed a lit shelf systemcomprising: a shelf having a front face, a lighting face extendinghorizontally, a dark face opposite the lighting face and a groove, thegroove having a front wall extending to a front edge about the lightingface and a rear wall extending to a rear edge about the lighting face,the front wall being closer to the front face than the rear wall and thefront wall extending further from the dark face than the rear wall; anda light source mounted in the groove and for lighting a space about thelighting face, the light source extending between the front wall and therear wall past the rear edge but not past the front edge.

According to an aspect, the groove is within the lighting face.

According to an aspect, lighting face comprising a frontmost face and arearmost face on either side of the groove, the frontmost face beingcloser to the front face than the rearmost face.

According to an aspect, the front wall extends further from the darkface than the rear wall by a given distance, further wherein thefrontmost face extends from the dark face by a given thickness, whereinthe given distance represents less than 3% of the given thickness.

According to an aspect, the front wall extends further from the darkface than the rear wall by a given distance, further wherein thefrontmost face extends from the dark face by a given thickness, whereinthe given distance represents less than 5% of the given thickness.

According to an aspect, the front wall extends further from the darkface than the rear wall by a given distance, further wherein thefrontmost face extends from the dark face by a given thickness, whereinthe given distance represents less than 10% of the given thickness.

According to an aspect, the front wall and the rear wall extendingsubstantially vertically.

According to an aspect, the front wall and the rear wall extendingsubstantially vertically and straight.

According to an aspect, when the light source is mounted within thegroove it does not extend past the front edge.

According to an aspect, the light source is mounted within the groove byfriction.

According to an aspect, the space lit by the light source spreads overan angle of coverage in a plane which is normal to both the front faceand the lighting face, the angle of coverage having a central axisdirected substantially away from the shelf and in a direction oppositethe front face.

According to an aspect, the space lit by the light source spreads overan angle of coverage in a plane which is normal to both the front faceand the lighting face, the angle of coverage being greater than 100degrees.

According to an aspect, the space lit by the light source spreads overan angle of coverage in a plane which is normal to both the front faceand the lighting face, the angle of coverage being greater than 130degrees.

According to an aspect, the light source further comprises a casing andlight emitting component mounted within the casing.

According to an aspect, the light source further comprises a diffuserfilm mounted within the casing to diffuse the light emitted by the lightemitting component.

According to an aspect, the lit shelf system further comprises a magnetand wherein the light source is mounted within the groove using anelectromagnetic force holding the casing within the groove.

According to an aspect, the lighting component comprises one or moreLEDs.

According to an aspect, the space lit by the light source spreads overan angle of coverage in a plane which is normal to both the front faceand the lighting face, the angle of coverage having a central axisdirected substantially away from the shelf and in a direction oppositethe front face, wherein the casing comprises a front wall ending at afront edge wherein the angle of coverage is limited in one direction bylighting face and another direction by a border line which is limited bythe front edge.

According to an aspect, the central axis and the border line define anangle which is 70 degrees or more.

According to an aspect, the front wall and the rear wall extenddownwardly and the lighting space is below the shelf.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the present disclosure will becomeapparent from the following detailed description, taken in combinationwith the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a side view of a lit shelf system inaccordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a close-up illustration of the side view of the lit shelfsystem of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a closer close-up illustration of the lit shelf systemillustrated on FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a picture illustrating a view of the combination of LEDs, PCBand driver partially slid out of the casing from a rear perspectiveaccording to its installation orientation;

FIG. 5 is a picture illustrating a view of the components of FIG. 4 froma front perspective according to its installation orientation;

FIG. 6 is a picture illustrating a bottom view of the components ofFIGS. 4 and 5 with the casing separated from the other components; and

FIG. 7 is a close-up illustration of the side view of an embodiment ofthe lit shelf system pointing upward.

It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like featuresare identified by like reference numerals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, there isshown a lit shelf system 10 adapted to provide lighting under a shelf100 with the light spreading homogeneously in a display area, a.k.a. litarea A, under the shelf 100. The lit area A is located under the shelf100 as looked at by an observer located in front of the shelf 100 from atypical perspective looking at the space below the shelf 100.

It will be understood that other embodiments where the lit area A whichis lit is above the shelf 100 are also possible. In such circumstances,the lit shelf system 10 described herein is simply turned upside down;i.e., the top becomes the bottom and vice versa. Such embodiments areuseful and possible as long as the blind angle is respected; i.e., theangle within which the observer cannot see the light source 200 (seeFIG. 2). Nonetheless, for explanation purposes, the lit area A beinglocated under the shelf 100 is used hereinafter.

Referring to FIG. 1, the lit shelf system 10 comprises a shelf 100having a front face 102, a lighting face 103 and a top face 106. Thelighting face 103, illustrated in the embodiment as an underface,comprises a frontmost underface 104, a rearmost underface 105. Thedistance between the top face 106 and the frontmost underface 104defines a front shelf thickness FT. The distance between the top face106 and the rearmost underface 105 defines a second thickness, a rearshelf thickness RT. The thickness FT is greater than the thickness RT.The top face 106 also known being opposite the lighting face 103 as thedark face.

According to an embodiment, a difference in the level of the frontmostunderface 104 and the rearmost underface 105, thus between the thicknessFT and the thickness RT, of about 2 mm (about 0.100 of an inch) providesthe desired result, namely to obtain an almost imperceptible differencebetween the frontmost underface 104 and the rearmost underface 105 andthereby providing the illusion to one observer of a single uniformcontinuous lighting underface 103.

The shelf 100 is mounted (either in a removable manner or permanently)to an anchoring wall 20 using a known method such as screws, bolts,clips, a combination of anchoring components and anchor-receivingstructures, or any other known alternative.

The perspective of an observer of the shelf 100 consists in one lookingat the front face 102 of shelf 100 from a distance. Depending on theheight at which the shelf 100 is installed as the height and position ofthe observer, a variety of typical perspectives of an observer lookingat the shelf 100 or at the lit area A lit by the lit shelf system 10must be considered. The lit area A is also referred to herein as the litspace or simply the space.

Still referring to FIG. 1, the shelf 100 comprises a groove 110 locatedclose to the front face 102 and separating the frontmost underface 104of the shelf 100 having a front shelf thickness FT from the rearmostunderface 105 of the shelf 100 having a rear shelf thickness RT. Thegroove 110 has a depth that is smaller than the rear shelf thickness RT(typically about 0.5 of an inch) from the frontmost underface 104),thereby having the groove 110 encased in the shelf 100. The groove 110has a bottom 111, a front wall 112 and a rear wall 116. The groove 110has a width between its front wall 112 and its rear wall 216, accordingto an embodiment, of about 3/16 of an inch. Junction between the frontwall 112 and the frontmost underface 104 defines a front edge 114. Thejunction between the rear wall 116 and the rearmost underface 105defines a rear edge 118.

Referring additionally to FIG. 2, the light source 200 is encased in thegroove 110, thus close to the front face 102. The light source 200 emita beam of light downwardly at a spreading angle ß2 delimited on one sideby the rearmost underface 105 alongside which the beam of light runs,and on the other side by a lit limit defined as explained below.

Accordingly, still referring to FIG. 1, a typical observer, who wouldnormally have their eyes between somewhere above the level of the shelf100 and slightly under the shelf 100, cannot directly see the lightsource 200 (or in other words does not have light emitted directly indirection of their eye). Furthermore, the beam of light reaches thejunction between the rearmost underface 105 and the anchoring wall 20uninterrupted. By having the beam of light traveling uninterruptedly tothe junction of the rearmost underface 105 and the anchoring wall 20,the lit shelf system 10 eliminates a shadow line that is typicallypresent with typical lit shelves of the prior art.

Referring particularly to FIG. 2, the light source 200 is encased in thegroove 110. The light source 200 comprises a light casing 206 comprisinga front wall 212 and a rear wall 216. The light casing 206 is housedbetween the front wall 112 and the rear wall 116. The light casing 206is maintained into the groove 110, according to embodiments, throughdifferent solutions. According to one embodiment, the light casing 206is maintained in the groove 110 through the use of a metallic stripinstalled at the bottom 111 of the groove 110 and a magnet 290 securedto the top of the light casing 206. According to another embodiment, thelight casing 206 is forced into the groove 110, with a biasing meanssuch as a compressible component, such as an elastomer component,affixed to at least one of the front wall 212 and rear wall 216 of thelight casing 206, with by the front wall 112 and the rear wall 116 ofthe groove 110 applying an inward force on the casing 206 to maintainthe casing 206 within the groove 110. The casing 206 further comprises afront edge 214 ending the front wall 212, and a read edge 218 ending therear wall 216. The front edge 214 and the rear edge 218, in a limitingmanner, are extending inwardly.

The light source 200 comprises a light component 203. The lightcomponent 203 comprises a functional combination of at least part of adriver 204 electrically connected to a light emitting component 209, thelight emitting component 209 (embodied in the present embodiment as oneor more Light Emitting Diodes or LEDs, and further referred to herein asLED 209) and a printed circuit board (a.k.a. PCB) 208 electricallyconnected to the driver 204 and controlling the LED 209. According to anembodiment (see FIGS. 4 to 6), the boards of PCB 208 and the driver 204are regularly electrically connected along their length; the connectionsperforming both functions of electric bridges and physical bridgesmaintaining the boards both distant and together as a single structure.

The light source 200 further comprises a diffuser film 211 disposed infront of the LED 209. The diffuser film 211, by its nature andconfiguration, direct and control the spreading of the beam of lightaccording to the light spreading angle ß2. The light casing 206 furthercomprises a housing configuration, abutment or other structural orfastening components adapted to house and maintain the driver 204, thePCB 208, the LED 209 and the diffuser film 211 in place and in thedesired orientation within the light casing 206. According to theillustrated embodiment, the casing 206 comprises a series of abutments222, 224, 226 and 228 against which the diffuser film 211 and the driver204 are abutting.

The light casing 206, when mounted in the groove 110 of the shelf 100,further presents itself extending downwardly along the rear wall 116about or not lower than the rear edge 118, thereby preventing, asdiscussed above, a shadow line to appear about the junction of the shelf100 and the anchoring wall 20. Close to the front wall 112, the lightcasing 206 extends downwardly about or not lower than the front edge114, thereby preventing one observer to see the light casing 206 whenlooking horizontally at the front of the shelf 100.

According to an embodiment, one embodiment of the diffuser film 211 is anano-optic film (such as developed by Microsharp Corporation Limited asavailable at http://www.microsharp.co.uk/) disposed in front or over thesurface of the LEDs 209. The nano-optic diffuser film 211 comprisesshapes to reflect and direct the beam of light emitted by the LEDs 209in a controlled light spreading angle. The nano-optic diffuser film 211may further partially control the intensity of light transmitted inparticular sub-portions of the spreading angle.

According to one embodiment, the light source 200 does not comprises adiffuser film 211. The LED 209, in this embodiment, extends in a lowerposition in the light casing 206. The beam of light emitted by the LED209, through the discussed configuration of components, travels withoutany diffusing component in the directions discussed above, to illuminatethe lit area A under the shelf 100.

Referring additionally to FIG. 3, the frontmost effective point 262 ofthe diffuser film 211 is positioned below (i.e., lower than) the rearedge 218, allowing the beam of light to spread backwardly and slightlyupwardly, thus running alongside the rearmost underface 105. Thisorientation of the beam of light prevents, as discussed before,formation of a shadow line at the root of the shelf 100 near the wall20.

It has to be noted that the external component of the lighting component203, in the present embodiment the diffuser film 211, spans the opening270 between the front edge 214 and the rear edge 218 of the casing 206.The lighting component 203 spanning the opening 270 provides a solutionfor securing the lighting component 203 in the casing and for maximizingthe efficiency of the beams of light emitted by the lighting component203 and lighting up the lit area A.

The lit area A on the other extremity is bordered by the lit border line302 illustrating the limit of spreading of the beam of light extendingfrom the rearmost effective diffuser point 264 to the front edge 214. Adistinct lit border line 300 is defined by the beam of light extendingfrom the rearmost LED point 254 to the front edge 214. It has to benoted that the portion of the lit area A between the rearmost underface105 and the lit border line 300 is directly lit, without the lightemitted by the LED 209 being required to be diffused or reoriented,while the portion of the lit area A between the lit border line 300 andthe lit border line 302 is lit by light reoriented by the diffuser film211. Thus, that portion of the lit area A is a dim lit area with respectto the remaining portion of the lit area A.

According to an embodiment, the angle defined by the rear underface andthe direct border lit line 300 is the direct spread angle ß1. Accordingto an embodiment, ß1 is about 122 degrees. According to an embodiment,ß1 is over about 100 degrees. According to an embodiment, ß1 is overabout 110 degrees.

According to an embodiment, the angle defined by the rear underface andthe dim border lit line 302 is the dim spread angle ß2. According to anembodiment, ß2 is about 132 degrees. According to an embodiment, thedifference between ß1 and ß2 is about 10 degrees. According to anembodiment, the difference between ß1 and ß2 is less than about 20degrees.

According to an embodiment, The LED 209 and the diffuser film 211 areoriented parallel to each other. A normal axis 304 (also referred to asa beam of light normal axis), perpendicular to the LED 209 and thediffuser film 211, is oriented in a direction which substantiallydownward and rearward. The normal axis 304, thus the normal orientationof the LED 209, is selected to optimize composing of direct and diffusedlight in the lit area A.

According to an embodiment, the normal axis 304 is of an angle of about33.5 degrees relative to the vertical plane. That angle for the normalaxis 304 is selected to re-direct the vertically projected beam of lightfrom the LED 209 into the substantially backwardly and downwardlyoriented light spreading angle.

According to an embodiment, the normal axis 304 is up to about 35degrees relative to the vertical plane. According to another embodiment,the normal axis 304 is up to about 25 degrees relative to the verticalplane. According to another embodiment, the normal axis 304 is up toabout 10 degrees relative to the vertical plane. It has to be noted thatthe “vertical plane” and thus the angles are defined relatively to thegeneral orientation of the lighting face 103 of the shelf 100, in thiscase the lighting underface 103. It has further to be noted that thedifficulty to efficiently prevent occurrence of a shadow line generallyincreases as the angle of the normal axis 304 decreases.

According to an embodiment, the direct light spreading angle ß1 providedwith such a combination of a LED 209 and a diffuser film 211 is up toabout 132 degrees, bordered on one side by the rearmost underface 105and on the other side by the front edge 214. According to the sameembodiment, the dim light spreading angle ß2 provided with such acombination of a LED 209 and a diffuser film 211 is up to about 152degrees, bordered on one side by the rearmost underface 105 and on theother side by the front edge 214. According to the same embodiment, therear-oriented direct lit border line 310 and dim lit border line 312,depending on the location of the frontmost LED point 252 and thefrontmost effective diffuser point 262 relative to the rear edge 218,are less or about 10 and 20 degrees respectively relative to and abovethe rearmost underface 105. The low values of the direct lit border line310 and dim lit border line 312 provide efficiency in the lighting ofthe lit area A while preventing undesired reflection effects that couldresult from a beam of light reflecting on the rearmost underface 105.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 to 6, FIGS. 4 and 5 provide views of thecombination of LEDs 209, PCB 208 and driver 204 partially slid out ofthe casing 206 from rear and front perspectives respectively, accordingto the installation orientation. FIG. 6 illustrates the lightingcomponents 203 slid out completely from the casing 206.

Referring more specifically to FIG. 6, embodiments of casings 206 mayfeature series of internal inward longitudinal grooves 230 (or lips) toadapt to a plurality of light sources 200 having specificconfigurations, such as mounting characteristics such as differentdistances between the PCB 208 and the driver 204, different width of PCB208 or driver 204, or different angular orientations of LEDs 209.

Referring now to FIG. 7, another embodiment for light source 400comprises a wider casing 406 having a width W, a front height FH and aheight BH, wherein the wider casing 406 is housing a LED 409 is arelatively similar configuration as the above-described embodiment forlight source 200. Accordingly, the light source 400 comprises similarcomponents as the above embodiments, namely a LED 409, a diffuser film411, a PCB 408, a driver 404, all housed in the casing 406. According tothis embodiment, the PCB 408 and the driver 404 are mounted as acombined manner providing the rigid structure to be mounted to the frontwall 412 and rear wall 416 of the casing 406.

According to the embodiment of FIG. 7, the rear wall 416 of the lightsource 400 may measure about 0.330 of an inch while the front wall 412measures about 0.434 of an inch of height, thus requiring as less as0.330 of an inch of depth for the shelf groove as measures relative tothe rear wall (not shown on FIG. 7, similar to rear wall 116 of groove110 of FIGS. 1 to 3), and a difference of about 0.134 of an inch betweenthe frontmost underface (not shown on FIG. 7, similar to frontmostunderface 104 of FIGS. 1 to 3) and the rearmost underface (not shown onFIG. 7, similar to rearmost underface 105 of FIGS. 1 to 3) of the shelf100. The width of the casing 406 may be about 0.250 of an inch for theembodiment illustrated on FIG. 7 and narrower for the embodimentillustrated on FIGS. 1 to 3.

Practically, selection of the first or the latter embodiment would bebased on esthetic considerations, on space management considerations,and other considerations such as heat dissipation considerations.Selections of a particular solution for a specific use must therefore beperformed considering such parameters.

It has to be mentioned that the shelf 100 may be made or composed ofmany materials, alone or in combination, that may be configured toprovide the desired configuration and physical characteristics. Examplesof such materials include, wood, steel and other metallic materials,glass and acrylics having been submitted to processes rendering themopaque or tainted in at least particular portions to prevent oneobserver from being able to see the casing 206 and other lightingcomponents, etc.

It has to be mentioned that the casings 206, 406 may be made or composedof many materials, alone or in combination, that may be configured toprovide the desired configuration and physical characteristics allowingthe casings 206, 406 to be housed and to remain in the groove 110 as toresist to the heat emitted by the light source 200, 400. Examples ofsuch materials include, heat-resistant plastic, heat-resistant rubber,steal and other metallic materials, etc.

It further has to be mentioned that even though the PCB 208 and thedriver 204 are illustrated as discrete components in the describedembodiments, alternative embodiments may present the PCB 208 and thedriver 204 as a single physical component. For example, the wider casing406 illustrated on FIG. 7 may accept a wider PCB 408 housing the driver404.

It is without mentioning that even if no mention of the power sourcefeeding the light sources 200, 400 has been discussed in relation withembodiments, many known power sources may provide power necessary forthe operation of the light sources 200, 400. Additional components mayfurther be present between the power source and the light source, suchas a switch, a dimmer, electric cables, circuit breaks, etc. for properoperation of the light sources 200, 400.

According to an embodiment, there is described a light source (200/400)to be encased to a shelf (100), the light source (200/400) comprising:

a casing (206/406) to be encased into the shelf (100), the casing(206/406) comprising:a front wall (212) ending with a front edge (214);a rear wall (216) ending with a rear edge (218);wherein the front wall (212) and the rear wall (216) are to be partiallyencased into the shelf (100); andan opening (270) between the front edge (214) and the rear edge (218);wherein the casing (206/406) when encased into the shelf (100) has thefront wall (212) stretching further from the shelf (100) than the rearwall (216); anda lighting component (203) mounted to the casing (206/406) emitting abeam of light bordered by the shelf (100) and the front edge (214),wherein the lighting component (203) spans the opening (270), andwherein the lighting component (203) is stretching away from the shelf(100) past the rear edge (218) but not past the front edge (214).

According to an aspect, the light source (200/400) further comprisesinward abutment surfaces (222,224,226,228) for mounting the lightingcomponent (203) to the casing (206/406).

According to an aspect, the light source (200/400) further comprises amounting wall and a magnet strip (290) mounted to the mounting wall,wherein the magnetic strip (290) is adapted to secure the light source(200/400) to a metal strip mounted to the shelf (100).

According to an aspect, the light source (200/400) further comprisesbias component, wherein the bias component is mounted outwardly to oneof the front wall (212) and the rear wall (216).

According to an aspect, the opening (270) is narrower than the lightingcomponent (203).

According to an aspect, the light source (200/400) further comprisesinward grooves (230).

According to an aspect, the lighting component (203) comprises at leastone lighting sub-component selected in the group comprising: a driver(204), a PCB (208) a light emitting component (209), and a diffuser film(211), and wherein one of the lighting sub-component is slidable mountedto the casing (206/406).

According to an aspect, the lighting component (203) emits a beam oflight spreading about at least 100 degrees.

According to an aspect, the lighting component (203) comprises a lightemitting component (209) and a diffuser film (211) parallel with eachother.

According to an aspect, proximity between the light emitting component(209) and the diffuser film (211) prevents the light beam emitted by thelight emitting component (209) to reflect over the casing (206/406)before reaching the diffuser film (211).

According to an embodiment, there is described a lit shelf system (10)for lighting up a lit area (A), comprising:

a shelf comprising:a front face (102);an lighting face (103) bordering the lit area (A), the lighting face(103) comprising a frontmost face (104) and a rearmost face (105)further distant from the front face (102) than the frontmost face (104);anda groove (110) comprising a bottom (111), the groove (110) beingbordered by the frontmost face (104) at a front edge (114) and by therearmost face (105) at a rear edge (118), with the front edge (114)extending further away from the bottom (111) than the rear edge (118);anda light source (200/400) mounted to the groove (110) lighting up the litarea (A), the light source (200/400) spanning between the front edge(114) and the rear edge (118), and stretching away from the bottom (111)past the rear edge (218) while not past the front edge (114).

According to an aspect, the lit shelf system further comprises amounting wall and a magnet strip (290) mounted to the mounting wall, anda metal strip mounted to the groove (110), wherein the magnetic strip(290) is adapted to secure the light source (200/400) to the metalstrip.

According to an aspect, the light source comprises a lighting component(203) comprises a light emitting component (209) and a diffuser film(211) mounted parallel with each other.

According to an aspect, proximity between the light emitting component(209) and the diffuser film (211) prevents light emitted by the lightemitting component (209) to reflect over the casing (206/406) beforereaching the diffuser film (211).

According to an aspect, the groove (110) is distant from the front face(102).

According to an embodiment, there is described a lit shelf system (10)for lighting up a lit area (A), comprising:

a shelf (100) comprising:a front face (102);an lighting face (103) bordering the lit area (A), the lighting face(103) comprising a frontmost face (104) and a rearmost face (105)further distant from the front face (102) than the frontmost face (104);anda groove (110) comprising a bottom (111), the groove (110) beingbordered by the frontmost face (104) at a front edge (114) and by therearmost face (105) at a rear edge (118), with the front edge (114)extending further away from the bottom (111) than the rear edge (118);anda light source (200/400) mounted to the groove (110) for emitting a beamof light lighting up the lit area (A), the beam of light runningalongside the rearmost face (105) on one side and its spread beinglimited to a spreading angle ß of over 100 degrees relative to therearmost face (105).

According to an aspect, the light source (200/400) further comprising amounting wall and a magnet strip (290) mounted to the mounting wall, anda metal strip mounted to the groove (110), wherein the magnetic strip(290) is adapted to secure the light source (200/400) to the metalstrip.

According to an aspect, the light source (200/400) comprises a lightingcomponent (203) comprises a light emitting component (209) and adiffuser film (211) mounted parallel with each other.

According to an aspect, the lighting source (200/400) further comprisesa casing (206/406) and wherein proximity between the light emittingcomponent (209) and the diffuser film (211) prevents light emitted bythe light emitting component (209) to reflect over the casing (206/406)before reaching the diffuser film (211).

According to an aspect, the lighting source (200/400)) comprises acasing (206/406) and at least one lighting sub-component selected in thegroup comprising: a driver (204), a PCB (208), a light emittingcomponent (209), and a diffuser film (211), and wherein one of thelighting sub-component is slidable mounted to the casing (206/406).

While preferred embodiments have been described above and illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, it will be evident to those skilled in theart that modifications may be made without departing from thisdisclosure. Such modifications are considered as possible variantscomprised in the scope of the disclosure.

1. A lit shelf system comprising: a shelf having a front face, alighting face extending horizontally, a dark face opposite the lightingface and a groove, the groove having a front wall extending to a frontedge about the lighting face and a rear wall extending to a rear edgeabout the lighting face, the front wall being closer to the front facethan the rear wall and the front wall extending further from the darkface than the rear wall; and a light source mounted in the groove andfor lighting a space about the lighting face, the light source extendingbetween the front wall and the rear wall past the rear edge but not pastthe front edge.
 2. The lit shelf system of claim 1, wherein the grooveis within the lighting face.
 3. The lit shelf system of claim 2, whereinlighting face comprising a frontmost face and a rearmost face on eitherside of the groove, the frontmost face being closer to the front facethan the rearmost face.
 4. The lit shelf system of claim 3, wherein thefront wall extends further from the dark face than the rear wall by agiven distance, further wherein the frontmost face extends from the darkface by a given thickness, wherein the given distance represents lessthan 3% of the given thickness.
 5. The lit shelf system of claim 3,wherein the front wall extends further from the dark face than the rearwall by a given distance, further wherein the frontmost face extendsfrom the dark face by a given thickness, wherein the given distancerepresents less than 5% of the given thickness.
 6. The lit shelf systemof claim 3, wherein the front wall extends further from the dark facethan the rear wall by a given distance, further wherein the frontmostface extends from the dark face by a given thickness, wherein the givendistance represents less than 10% of the given thickness.
 7. The litshelf system of claim 1, wherein the front wall and the rear wallextending substantially vertically.
 8. The lit shelf system of claim 1,wherein the front wall and the rear wall extending substantiallyvertically and straight.
 9. The lit shelf system of claim 1, whereinwhen the light source is mounted within the groove it does not extendpast the front edge.
 10. The lit shelf system of claim 1, wherein thelight source is mounted within the groove by friction.
 11. The lit shelfsystem of claim 1, wherein the space lit by the light source spreadsover an angle of coverage in a plane which is normal to both the frontface and the lighting face, the angle of coverage having a central axisdirected substantially away from the shelf and in a direction oppositethe front face.
 12. The lit shelf system of claim 1, wherein the spacelit by the light source spreads over an angle of coverage in a planewhich is normal to both the front face and the lighting face, the angleof coverage being greater than 100 degrees.
 13. The lit shelf system ofclaim 1, wherein the space lit by the light source spreads over an angleof coverage in a plane which is normal to both the front face and thelighting face, the angle of coverage being greater than 130 degrees. 14.The lit shelf system of claim 1, wherein the light source furthercomprises a casing and light emitting component mounted within thecasing.
 15. The lit shelf system of claim 14, wherein the light sourcefurther comprises a diffuser film mounted within the casing to diffusethe light emitted by the light emitting component.
 16. The lit shelfsystem of claim 14, further comprising a magnet and wherein the lightsource is mounted within the groove using an electromagnetic forceholding the casing within the groove.
 17. The lit shelf system of claim14, wherein the lighting component comprises one or more LEDs.
 18. Thelit shelf system of claim 14, wherein the space lit by the light sourcespreads over an angle of coverage in a plane which is normal to both thefront face and the lighting face, the angle of coverage having a centralaxis directed substantially away from the shelf and in a directionopposite the front face, wherein the casing comprises a front wallending at a front edge wherein the angle of coverage is limited in onedirection by lighting face and another direction by a border line whichis limited by the front edge.
 19. The lit shelf system of claim 18,wherein the central axis and the border line define an angle which is 70degrees or more.
 20. The lit shelf system of claim 1, wherein the frontwall and the rear wall extend downwardly and the lighting space is belowthe shelf.